CORRECTED: Costa Rica trade perks not conditional: Democrats

Corrects Sen. Sanders’ political affiliation in paragraph 13 and clarifies two other senators also wrote Bush

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats sought to reassure Costa Rican voters on Friday their country would not lose U.S. trade benefits if they rejected a free-trade agreement with Washington, following a Bush administration warning they could be at risk.

"Congress is constitutionally responsible for regulating international commerce. As such, we reiterate our longstanding position that preference programs should not be conditioned on a country entering into a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States," two senior Democrats in the House of Representatives said.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel and Rep. Sander Levin, chairman of the Ways and Means' trade subcommittee, also said the Bush administration had no power to revoke Costa Rica's benefits if the pact were turned down.

The joint statement came just before Costa Rican voters will decide on Sunday whether to join the U.S.-Central American Free Agreement along with four of their neighbors and the Dominican Republic.

It followed a warning by U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab on Thursday that some of Costa Rican's trade benefits were at risk if the treaty was rejected.

The referendum has split the nation, with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and some businesses saying CAFTA will bring investment and jobs. Opponents says it will mean a flood of cheap farm imports and limit the country's sovereignty by taking investment disputes to international arbitration.

About 100,000 Costa Ricans turned out last Sunday to protest the pact, a huge number in a country of 4 million.